Himachal Pradesh elections: Prem Kumar Dhumal loses, BJP to choose new CM face

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is all set to snatch power from the hands of Congress in Himachal Pradesh, but one of tall leaders in the state, Prem Kumar Dhumal, was not able to deliver a victory for his party.

Dhumal lost against Congress' Rajinder Rana in Sujanpur, after he changed his traditional constituency of Hamirpur. He was made the chief ministerial face only nine days before the polling.

"Mr Dhumal's loss is heartbreaking, but there was no infighting. BJP's parliamentary board will decide on the chief ministerial face," Mandi MP Ram Swarup Sharma told Zee News.

In Himachal Pradesh, Congress veteran and six-time Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and his son Vikramaditya Singh won from Arki and Shimla (Rural) respectively.

Himachal Pradesh has a tradition of changing the government in every election.

The BJP ousted the Congress in 1990 and the Congress avenged the defeat in 1993. The BJP formed the government with the help of Himachal Vikas Congress in 1998 and the Congress was back in power in 2003. The BJP made a comeback in 2007.

(With PTI inputs)